Aguero and De Bruyne among Ballon d’Or nominees

Rob Conlon
Kevin de Bruyne & Sergio Aguero: Duo up for top gong

Kevin de Bruyne & Sergio Aguero: Duo up for top gong

Manchester City duo Sergio Aguero and Kevin de Bruyne have been named alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the Ballon d’Or shortlist.

The first 10 players in contention for this year’s award have been announced by France Football, with 20 more names to be revealed later on Monday.

So far Aguero and De Bruyne are the only representatives from the Premier League on the shortlist.

Juventus trio Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Gianluigi Buffon are the names from Serie A, while Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the only player from the Bundesliga.

Current holder Lionel Messi completes the shortlist alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Antoine Griezmann and Diego Godin.